Crash
by red-opti
Summary: When Daphne is injured in a car accident the Vasquez and Kennish families will learn that blood and water may have the same density after all...  rated T for swearing, fighting and because im paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

Switched at Birth

Crash

*A/N when dialogue is in bold, the characters are signing to one another. When in italics, it is inner dialogue. When dialogue underlined, the characters are both speaking and signing.*

7:04 AM

Regina Vasquez stood in front of the sink in the Kennish's guest house like it was a normal day. Like nothing out of the ordinary were to happen. But as it does so often the universe proved Regina Vasquez wrong.

"Mom," said Daphne Vasquez trying to get her mother's attention.

"Daphne, you're up early. You do know it's Saturday, right?"

"Yes, I know. But I can't sleep. I had a weird dream."

"What was it about?"

"A cochlear implant," Daphne signed nervously

"Daphne, we've talked about this. Number one, it's too expensive and number two, they have to cut open your brain! You are not getting that surgery while under my roof."

"Number one it's not your roof. It's Kathryn and John's roof and speaking of Kathryn and John I'm sure they'd be happy to pay for something like that. And number two, it was just a dream. I've considered it once or twice. But it doesn't seem all that great."

"Promise me you won't go asking them to pay for anything?" asked Regina

"I promise."

Daphne walked back to her room to get dressed leaving her mother in the kitchen with a blank look on her face and a faraway look in her eyes.

10:42 PM

Kathryn Kennish had always felt blessed. When she married John, when she had and raised Toby, when she had Daphne, and when she raised Bay. Now she had two daughters, a son and a husband and was thinking the only think that'd make everything better was if she had a maid who worked for free.

She was completely caught off guard when she found out about the switch. Even more stunned when she found out Daphne was deaf and felt completely blindsided by the fact that Regina knew about the switch. It still made her uneasy that she was only a few yards away but Kathryn decided not to stir the water anymore than it had been.

She was in the middle of remembering a strange dream from the night before. Daphne had had some surgery that had caused her to be able to hear.

"Kathryn?" asked Daphne opening the wooden door in the kitchen.

"Daphne?" asked Kathryn as she turned to see her biological daughter.

"I was looking for my car keys. Have you seen them?"

"On the counter," Kathryn motioned to the marble countertop and watched Daphne retrieve them, then turned to leave.

"Daphne wait," cried Kathryn putting a hand on Daphne's shoulder. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure." Smiled Daphne

"Have you ever considered getting a cochlear implant?"

"She will not be having that procedure." Snapped Regina walking in on their conversation

Kathryn's head whipped around to look at Regina. Daphne followed Kathryn's gaze.

"Why were you talking about that procedure, Daphne? I thought I made it very clear that I do not want you to get the implant." Regina glared at Daphne who glared back trying to figure out why her mom was so resistant to the idea

"It was my fault, Regina. I brought it up." Kathryn admitted

"You brought this up again? After I told you drop it, you still bring it up? And in front of her no less?"

"It's her brain and her body! If she wants to hear and this implant will help I say we let her decide to get the implant"

"You don't get a say! I am her legal mother I will decide what is best for her until she turns 18!"

"No you won't! You'll keep deciding for her, as you always have!"

"What and you're just gonna let go of Bay? Do not treat me like the control freak, Kathryn, you are the control freak!"

"You guys stop it!" shouted Daphne stepping in between her angry mothers. She didn't know what either of them had been saying this whole time but she knew they were upset about something. "Fine, I won't get the implant!"

Daphne stormed out of the house leaving the two women standing there disgruntled and fuming.

12:38 AM

Daphne wasn't answering her phone and that was not like her. She always had it in her pocket on vibrate. She could only text but she want answering those either.

"We must have pissed her off more than we thought." Said Kathryn walking into the living room where Regina sat on the couch with her cell phone pressed tightly to her ear. _It couldn't be Daphne, she can't call people._

"Ms. Vasquez, this is Dr. Harold Morris at Riverview Hospital. There's been an accident involving your daughter, Daphne."

Regina Vasquez's world had just been put in a jar, tipped upside down and shaken until her head spun.

"C-can you repeat Th-that?" she stuttered

"Regina, what's wrong? Is Daphne alright?" asked Kathryn

"Your daughter was in an auto accident about 45 minutes ago." Dr. Morris informed Regina

The phone fell to Regina's lap and onto the floor where it snapped shut.

"Regina? Is Daphne alright?" Kathryn knew the answer wasn't going to be good.

"Daphne was in a car accident." Sobbed Regina

Kathryn felt stricken. She and Regina both fell into each other's shaking arms crying hard.

"Please tell me you aren't all wacked out because of another cheesy soap opera." Said Toby walking in to the living room

"Toby, go get Bay and John: We have to get to the hospital." Kathryn replied

"Why? What's wrong?" asked Toby

"Just go!" snapped Regina

12:52

"Bay, open the door!" shouted Toby pounding on the bedroom door next to his sister's room.

"Jeez, Toby, where's the fire?" asked Bay sarcastically

"I think something happened to Daphne! Mom and Regina were downstairs crying and told me to come get you and Dad and that we have to get to the hospital."

Bay opened her mouth and then grabbed her jacket and purse and followed Toby towards their father's room.

1:00

"Whose car are we taking?" asked John running outside.

"Mine. It's not a gas guzzler." Stated Regina

Regina tossed the keys to John then squeezed into the back seat with Bay and Toby as Kathryn and John took the two front seats.

The car was filled with sobs and tears the entire 15 minute ride to the Hospital. Regina took out her cell phone and texted Melody and Emmet.

"Melody? Emmet?" she typed

"Yes, Regina, it's Melody. Why are you texting me at one in the morning?" was the response

"Daphne's been in a car accident." Regina typed back

It took a moment but Melody replied, "Where is she?"

"Downtown at Riverview hospital,"

"I'll get Emmet and we'll be there in fifteen minutes. Regina, it's going to be okay. Daphne's strong and she'll be fine."

"God, I hope you're right."

1:17

"I'm looking for Doctor Harold Morris." Regina told the receptionist

"Paging Dr. Morris to Trauma 1, Doctor Harold Morris to Trauma 1." Said the receptionist into a white phone on the counter. The Kennishes and Regina heard it echo through the halls. "Ma'am I believe he's in surgery, is there a patient you are here to see?"

"Yes. Daphne Vasquez, she's 16, she's deaf, and she was in an auto accident."

"Okay," the receptionist typed on a keyboard in front of a small black screen. "It says here that Daphne Vasquez is in surgery for a mild head trauma."

"Who's performing the surgery?" asked Regina, sobbing

"Doctor Morris," replied the receptionist

"Thank you" said Regina turning to everyone else, their eyes as red and puffy as she guessed hers were. "I guess we'll just have to wait."

Everyone walked to the waiting area.

1:26

Emmett and Melody walked in to Riverview hospital. Emmett felt as though he was the one in a car accident. Melody's main focus was to find Regina. She waved to her friend. Regina hadn't seen the gesture and was startled when Melody sat in the chair across from her.

"**How is she?" **signed Melody

"**We don't know." **Regina informs her**. **Melody pulls her crying friend into a tight hug.

Emmett immediately walks over to Bay and sits in the chair next to her. **"How is she? Have you seen her yet?"**

"No. we haven't been able to do anything but wait." Bay begins crying again and leans against Emmett, whose frame is also shaking.

"Wilke, get to Riverview Hospital, now. Daphne's hurt." Types Toby

"How and when?"

"About an hour ago, Idk, Just get here!"

"I'm on it." Wilke texted back

"John, what could we have done to deserve this? We lose Daphne, only to get her back for a few months, just to lose her again? I don't understand." Sobbed Kathryn

"I doubt the universe is conspiring against us. Now I know Regina and Daphne have a special bond because Regina raised her, but you, Kathryn, are her mother. That has to count for something. So we need to stay strong and send her everything we've got." John tells Kathryn, trying to be strong himself.

"Are you the family of Daphne Vasquez?" asks a strong male voice

"Yes. Is she alright?"Asks Regina jumping to her feet, Melody and Emmett turn to Bay who is signing what she can for them to follow.

"Well, it's not as bad as you might think. The worst she's suffered is a mild concussion and a broken rib. They are already treated and healing as we speak. But there's one more thing you should know. She's fractured three bones in her right wrist and fore arm. Since she's deaf and no doubt signs, communication will be difficult." Dr. Morris finished removing his surgical cap and ringing it in his hands

"Can we see her?" Regina persists

"Immediate family only." He states

Regina turns to John and Kathryn. Kathryn locks eyes with Regina for a moment and nods. Regina turns back to the man in scrubs. "Where's her room?"

Before he can answer, Bay stands up and says, "I want to see her."

Regina smiles, "Okay."

"She's in room 105." He turns and looks over his shoulder, "Kelly, can you take these two to room 105?"

A nurse approaches Bay and Regina and motions for them to follow her.

1:59

Wilke steps off of the elevator and towards Toby who stands by a vending machine, staring blankly through the glass without really seeing it. Wilke isn't surprised a bit when Toby jumps a mile as the taller boy puts a hand on his friends' shoulder.

"Is she okay?" asks Wilke

"No. She's got a concussion and a broken rib and a fractured wrist. Bay and Regina went to see her. We can't yet because we're not 'immediate family' or something. How do you determine family? I mean, I'm not related to Bay and she's my sister. I'm not related to you and you're my brother. Now Regina and Bay aren't related to Daphne and they get to see her first. I'm not jealous it's just… a bit messed up." Toby finished ranting and Wilke stood there listening without a comment for once in his life.

Back in the waiting room Kathryn is almost asleep on John's shoulder when a thought strikes her. "John, this is the hospital where the girls were born!"

John glances around and realizes his wife is right. He remembers walking in with Toby after getting a call that his wife was in labor.

_**Flashback**_

John Kennish rushes into the hospital with his son Toby who grasps his hand tightly.

"Daddy, where's Mommy?" asks Toby clutching his teddy bear,

"She's in a room with doctors because Bay is being born, remember?" John says to Toby who frowns

"Where is Bay?" asked Toby

John and Toby made their way to the plastic chairs in the brightly painted maternity ward. He and Kathryn had tried to explain it to Toby, but since he was only a toddler, it was difficult. "Bay isn't here yet. The doctors are bringing her."

"But you said mommy had her. If mommy has her why are the doctors bringing her?" Toby asked. John smiled; he had quite a smart little boy.

"I'll tell you later okay, Toby?" smiled John

"Okay. I'm hungry." Whined Toby

John glanced around. Mostly there were just other fathers, but he saw a vending machine a few feet away. He reached for his wallet and turned to his son. "Okay do you see that machine over there?" –Toby nodded- "Here's a dollar. Go buy something for yourself okay?"

"Okay. I'm going to leave here." Toby climbed off the chair and put his little teddy in his place then ran off the machine.

John watched his little boy as a tan woman and a woman that appeared to be her mother went by with a few doctors. The woman was clearly in labor and her mother was obviously excited. She said something in Spanish. John only caught small words like "Mom" or "baby" and then a name in English, "Daphne Paloma Vasquez".

_**End Flashback**_

"John?" asked Kathryn "Are you okay?"

John realized he'd been staring off into the distance and focused on his wife's bleary eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking."

"Daphne will be fine." Repeated Kathryn

John didn't know if she was comforting him or herself. He merely nodded.

End Chapter One. Review! Negative or positive accepted. Need 10 reviews if you want more.


	2. Chapter 2

2:14

Bay Kennish walked into Daphne's room behind Regina. The deaf girl in the bed before them looked smaller than ever surrounded by machines and white. The blinding color was everywhere. She was already pale but the white around her washed her out, making the cuts in her face and arms standing out bolder than Bay thought possible.

"Oh, Daphne," Sighed Regina as she grasped Daphne's hand "I know you can't hear me, but you can feel me. You can wake up can't you?"

Bay listened to her birthmother plead with the daughter she'd raised to come back to her, to wake up. Bay had a horrible flash of herself in that bed. That's what would've happened if she hadn't been switched right? If she's been Daphne Paloma Vasquez, If she'd been deaf, the girl in the bed would've been Bay right?

_This was a bad idea. I shouldn't have come. I should've let Toby or Mom come instead._

"Regina, do you mind if I talk to her. I know she can't hear me, but I'd like to tell her something." Bay choked out

"Sure," nodded Regina, turning towards Bay "would you like me to leave?"

"It doesn't matter to me." Bay swallowed and stepped forward "Daphne, I know you can't hear me, but I need to say this. I've been acting like an ungrateful bitch lately and I want you to know I'm really glad we found out about the switch. I'm really glad not just because I met Regina or Emmett, but you too. I could've grown up with a life that would've been a struggle and challenged me, but instead I got the easy life. You're a really nice person, Daphne and you deserve the easier life. And I shouldn't have tried to keep Liam away from you. You two were cute together and I think you were better for him. I just got him in trouble." Bay laughed. She kept her gaze on Daphne's face as she had the whole time she'd been talking. "I'm sorry I took Liam from you and I'm sorry I got the easy life."

Bay got up to leave when Regina's voice stopped her, "There was nothing you could've done anyways."

Bay turned to see Regina leaning easily against the doorframe. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough," nodded Regina

Bay gave a nervous smile at Regina's cliché answer.

"She'd love to know you feel that way. And you'll get to tell her, when she wakes up." Regina didn't sound too sure of herself, but Bay knew she was trying.

"I'm going to go talk to Emmet."

"Okay, will you tell Kathryn and Jon that they can come see her now?"

"Sure." Bay walked out and Regina stayed at the door frame. She remembered doing this when Daphne was little, even before she got sick, Regina would stay at her door for an hour or so every night.

"How is she?" asked a male voice

Regina turned expecting to see Jon, Toby or Wilke, but instead was met with the face of Bay's biological father.

2:47

Regina stepped towards him dangerously, until his back was against a wall. "You, get out of here. Daphne doesn't need this right now and neither does Bay. Leave, or I'll throw you out on your arrogant ass myself."

"Easy, easy, I just wanted to know how she was." Angelo smiled trying to calm Regina down

"How did you find out?" Regina snapped

He held up a bandaged hand. "Carpentry accident,"

"Since when are you a carpenter?" she asked suspicions rattling in her head.

"It was a job for a friend. I came up here to get it looked at and I saw you, then I saw Daphne, so I asked."

"Fair enough," Regina swallowed and backed up

"Regina, can you just answer me this?" he asked "Why is Daphne here?"

"A car accident," Regina answers then starts crying again.

"When, how bad is it?"

"A few hours ago, it's not that bad. Well actually I don't know. She's been unconscious since we got here. I'm worried, she got a concussion and she's in a coma. Those two things together don't spell out anything but trouble." Angelo brings a crying Regina into a hug

"She'll be fine, she's had you and your mother as examples her whole life and she'll be fine. I believe that and right now she needs you to believe that, too. Can you do that?" Angelo asked

"I can. If she could survive that damn hearing school, then she can do this. She'll get through it. I do believe that."

"Good."

"Regina," asked Kathryn

"Oh, Kathryn, Jon, you guys can go see her now." Regina told them

"Why are you talking to him?" Jon asked

"Honey, let it go, let's just go see her. Okay?"

"Okay, but I don't want him anywhere near them; did you see how the girls reacted last time? I don't want that again. Do you hear me?" Jon got close to Angelo's face "Nowhere near either of them."

"Yeah, I got it. Calm down."

"Jon, don't." said Kathryn holding her husband back as he lunged towards Angelo.

Jon exhaled and followed Kathryn into the room next to them. Jon heard Kathryn gasp and rush to their daughter's side. Jon didn't know how to react. Should he be angry that someone had hit his daughter? Should he be scared that she hadn't woken up yet? Should he be brave for Kathryn? He felt his knees go weak and decide to grab a chair and pull it to the side of the bed next to Kathryn's chair.

"Oh, Jon, how did I let this happen?" Kathryn asked holding tight to Daphne's hand.

"What? Kathryn, you did nothing wrong. How could you even think like that?" Jon asked

"If I hadn't brought up the damn cochlear again, then Regina and I wouldn't have fought and Daphne wouldn't have left and none of this would've happened." Kathryn said

"No, honey, it's not your fault. It's the bastard that hit her. If I find him I'm gonna kill him." Jon hoped he found that man; he'd definitely make sure he got his revenge.

Kathryn snorted "Thanks, but I don't think murder is the answer."

"Can I punch him?"

"Seems fair," She smiled "I hope she wakes up soon."

"She will, we just have to keep up hope." Jon says trying to be uplifting.

3:00

Bay stands in her art room, thinking. She looks at all the nice things she has and remembers Daphne's room that night she got arrested. The comparison was appalling. Bay suddenly felt angry at whoever had hit Daphne. A hit and run! Who could hit someone with their car and leave them there, bleeding and injured. How did they know if she was dead or not? Why didn't they stay to find out? Bay wanted to do something, she hated when people she loved got hurt. She wanted Daphne to wake up; she hated seeing her family all in tears. Without warning Bay lashed out on a nearby easel. She threw cups of brushes and knocked over paint buckets. The room looked like a tornado had come through. Things hit the walls and floor with enough force to break some of them. Bay tossed a bunch of stirring stick as the wall crying the whole time. She felt strong arms around her and broke down into them, sobbing. Emmet held onto his distraught girlfriend and cried silently. The two teenagers sat on the floor of the wrecked garage for the next few hours. Some time in silence some in the company of tears. Bay didn't care that the ground was cold and she was paint stained. She was with Emmet and that was good enough for her.

4:00

Wilke stood by the door to Daphne's room. Toby, Kathryn, Jon, Regina and that other guy, Wilke didn't know had been in the tiny hospital room for about an hour or so now. Jon had gone to get take out for everyone a while ago. He got vegetarian; salads for everyone. Regina and Kathryn had hardly touched they're food. The men all ate, but slower than any of them ever had. Now Wilke leaned casually against the cold metal door jam, trying not to feel so out of place. How could he explain how he felt? If it were Bay, he'd know he'd feel like his sister were in the hospital, but this was different. Daphne was totally new to him and he didn't feel like she was a sister at all. In fact he wanted her to be his girlfriend. But he didn't know how to ask her. She's Toby's sister. She's Toby's real sister; making it ten times as awkward.

4:08

Daphne was back on the play ground. Her third grade play ground. She was waiting for her mom and hoping Hannah wouldn't see her. But sure enough, Hannah, Jessica and Alyssa walked over and started teasing her. Mocking the way she talked, calling her 'Retarded', telling her how stupid her clothes were. Daphne stood there, crying, wishing her mom would come early, and praying for a miracle. She didn't know her prayers had been answered until she looked up. A boy with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes stood beside her and screamed. Those girls were terrified, Daphne thought Alyssa was going to pee her pants and Hannah had started crying. The blonde boy then stopped and said "Don't you ever talk to her again". Daphne couldn't hear him, but if she had to place money on it, that's what she'd guess. Suddenly just as the blonde haired boy was about to turn to her, her vision went black. She knew she wasn't a third grader anymore and she was anywhere but school, when a bright white light appeared in front of her…


	3. Chapter 3

Firstly, I don't know why my author's notes didn't show up last time. Secondly, I'm saddened by the lack of reviews. I can't even express how awesome it is to wake up, check my e-mail and see reviews! They make me happy, so review. Thirdly, shout out to "kittenamos", "xRainbowNinjax" and "CrystalSearcher" for amazing reviews and input. I dedicate this to all three of you

4:25

Emmet held Bay's trembling hand as he led her to his motorcycle. He gave her the helmet and helped her get situated. She never said a word. She usually sang or talked to herself. Emmet could never tell which, all he knew is that even at 50 MPH; he could feel her warm breath on his neck. They arrived at the hospital 18 minutes later. Bay was still silent but it was more of an angry silence than a sad silence. Emmet knew she was still cheerless, but she kept clenching her fists. He followed her to the lobby, into the elevator and up to Daphne's floor. He couldn't take the emptiness between them so he reached out to take her hand as she walked to Daphne's room. Bay rounded on Emmet and looked like she was going to explode. Emmet smiled at her and she calmed down.

"**Will you be okay?**" he asked

"Yes, I'll be fine," Bay replied

"**We don't have to be here, if you don't want to be.**" He signed back

"You're a bad liar. I know you want to be here and I do to, it's just hard."

"**I know that, so do you want to stay or not?**"

"We can stay"

"**Okay**" smiled Emmet

4:45

Toby was walking down the hall to find a bathroom when he saw Bay and Emmet by the elevators.

"Hey!" he called out, Bay turned and Emmet followed her gaze "Daphne moved her hand about 20 minutes ago."

Bay looked at Emmet and it was clear that he'd understood what little Toby had signed. Daphne had moved her hand. Was she finally waking up? They didn't need to speak they both just ran down to Daphne's room. Bay looked at the small crowd in Daphne's room. She could see Kathryn, Jon, Melody, Wilke, Regina and -Bay's breath caught in her throat- Angelo Sorrento. Bay couldn't move. Emmet tried to get her attention, but she was too stunned to respond. Why did he think it was okay to be here? Who told him to come? When did he get here? Bay swallowed her fear and followed Emmet into the crowded room.

"Hey, we saw Toby a few minutes ago, he said that her hand moved?" asked Bay

Regina looked up from where she sat holding Daphne's hand. Kathryn and Jon sat in chairs beside Melody. Angelo leaned on the wall by the window but wouldn't take his eyes off of Bay. Wilke stood outside the room, listening. Jon was the one to reply to Bay, "Yeah, she did at about 4:20. Where were you guys?"

"We went home for a little while. I hope that's not a problem," Bay answered

"No, not at all, just tell us next time, okay?"

"o.k." said Bay. She and Emmet took seats by the door and tried to ignore Angelo's stare.

4:50

Angelo watched Bay intently. He glanced at Kathryn and Jon. They were so worried about Daphne that they didn't notice the beautiful girl they'd raised. Angelo cared about Daphne, but he'd rather get to know Bay. He'd known Daphne, not Bay.

_They can have Daphne,_ Angelo thought, _she's not mine, they can have her. I want Bay. It's not fair. I should've gotten to raise my daughter!_

"Hey," Said Regina, quietly "Out in the hall."

4: 58

"Your subtlety skills need work." Regina pointed out

"What are you talking about?" Angelo tried to counter

Regina shook her head. "You know damn well. Watching Bay like that, what's wrong with you? Jon will notice if you keep doing that and he won't like it." Regina's dark eyes seemed to stare right through Angelo. Her jaw set and she crossed her arms.

Angelo only laughed easily, "He won't do a damn thing. He won't hurt me, because that will make him look bad in the courts eyes. Everyone knows about this lawsuit. He wants to win so badly, he won't do anything to compromise his chances." Angelo gave his signature I-know-something-that-you-don't-know smile. He too, folded his arms but in more of a smug manor. His brown eyes smirked at Regina making her want to hit him. She held her clenched fists close.

"Just stop staring, okay? For me? For Daphne? God, for anyone, I don't care who just stop!" Regina pleaded

"Fine," Angelo sighs

5:04

Regina and Angelo stepped back into the room as it filled with commotion. Kathryn had been startled by Melody standing quickly and pointing to Daphne and signing.

"She said…Um… moving, a hand, moving, Daphne, - oh- Daphne's hand moved again!" said Bay translating what little she had understood from Melody's frantic signing

Regina rushed past Bay and was by Daphne's side in record time. "Come on, baby. Come back, you can do it." Said Regina, encouragingly,

She knew her daughter couldn't hear her but hoped she's wake soon anyways.

Kathryn brushed a stand of strawberry blond hair out of her face and leaned towards Daphne's bed. Melody sat back down, since her massage was received. Kathryn continued to lean forward. She didn't realize she'd almost fallen asleep. She glanced at Toby, Bay, Emmet and Wilke. The teenagers were all red-eyed and yawning at various times. She glanced at her digital watch and saw that it was Sunday morning. They all had school tomorrow and needed rest. The universe seemed to agree with her because a nurse approached the door and gasped.

"Oh, you can't be in here. Visiting hours don't start until eleven. Wait a minute, have you all been here since last night?" she asked

The nods and yawns answered her question. "Well, I'm afraid I can't allow anyone but immediate family to stay."

"Well, that will be hard to determine." Said Regina, casting glances at Jon and Kathryn

"I recognize you from the papers a while a back so I know what you mean." She smiled, half-heartedly, "I'll give you a minute to decide. I'll be back."

5:14

"Well not me," said Angelo, watching Regina sign to Emmet and Melody

"I don't think I count either," said Wilke, sadly

"**We should go, too.**" Signed Melody

"**I want to stay.**" Demanded Emmet

"**No,**" persisted Melody

"**Can I say goodbye?**" asked Emmet

Melody considered it for a minute, and then glanced at Regina, who'd been following the whole conversation. "I think we should discuss this outside." Said Regina, catching Melody's hint

Everyone's brow furrowed and they followed Regina out of the room. Melody left and Emmet locked the door. Regina pretended not to hear the telltale click.

"**You've got to be more careful,**" signed Emmet, with a laugh, "**I've always thought I was the reckless one, but I think you won this time." **he paused and waited and watched for her laugh, but it never came, "**Next time just ask to borrow my bike okay?**" Still no laugh. Emmet did not know how to react to this. He'd never had any of his friends in the hospital before. He'd never cracked a joke that Daphne hadn't laughed at. "**Come back, Daphne. Please, don't die. Please god, don't take her.**" Emmet signed, looking towards the ceiling. He felt a tear roll hot down his freckled cheeks. He wiped it away but his blue eyes continued to produce the salty liquid so he gave up. He let them fall. "**I'm so sorry, Daphne. I'm not sure how to deal with this. We used to joke about me being in the hospital for riding too fast, then mom would get angry and we'd wait till she turned around then kept on joking.**" The stillness was killing him. He grasped Daphne's uninjured hand, squeezed it and mentally pleaded with her to wake up.

He stood to leave and, had he not been anticipating it, he would've missed it: Daphne squeezed back. It was delayed and short lived but he knew it'd happened. He smiled and waited for a few moments. When she did not stir, his smile fell. He let go of her hand and left the room.

5:29

Emmet steps out to a (false) angry glare from his mother. She pretended to sign something along the lines of s scolding, but to a deaf person it's hard to look angry while you're signing "**She'll be fine, she knows you love her and she'll wake up. You did well. Nice touch locking the door.**"

Emmet grimaced as though his mother had just grounded him for a week without his camera. He hugged Bay and followed his mother to the elevators.

5:32

Wilke watched Emmet leave the room. He noticed that everyone was so focused on Emmet and Melody that they certainly wouldn't see him do what he was about to do. He walked casually around the little group and into the hospital room. He closed the door and locked it quietly. It didn't matter who heard him, he was already in. He sat by Daphne's side he looked at her face. The face he'd always thought was so perfect. Even now, covered in cuts, her face was still perfect. Wilke thought back to the day Daphne asked him to skip school with her. Then to the fundraiser carwash. It usually didn't take long for Wilke to get the girl he was after, but that's what he liked about Daphne. She was different. Not just because she was deaf, but because she was smart, original and amazing. He listened to the beeping of the monitor. He'd never noticed how often he relied on his sense of sound. Or on the fancy things his parents bought for him.

_I couldn't make it a day in her life._ He thought.

"I know you can't hear me or see me or anything, but if that Edward kid gets to talk to you, then so do I. I'm sorry about all this. Now we all sound like a broken record player. But you can't hear us so I guess it doesn't matter. I didn't mean that offensively or anything…" for the second time in his life Wilke was at a loss for words. "I guess it won't matter that I tell you this now, since you won't know I said it, but um…" Wilke glanced down at his hands. He liked seeing her fingers intertwined with his. He thought of how perfectly they fit. "I think I… no, I know I… I love you Daphne and I want you to wake up and be okay. I'll never use cheesy lines on you again, I promise. As long as you promise to wake up and be okay." he finished and looked up at her face. He was just about to look down again when a bit of motion caught his eye.

Daphne's eyelids fluttered.

"Daphne?" he asked

End chapter three

Need reviews if you want more. I will take suggestions or requests. First person to review gets to choose my profile picture! Nothing inappropriate though… Kay hope you liked it!


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey, guys! I just finished my final performance! It was amazing. I've been catching up on sleep so I apologize for this being late… thank you to "Bizzy98" for being the first to review. I love waking up to your reviews. Oh and if you see a word with its letters all spaced apart, it means the word is being finger spelled. I used "Everything" by Lifehouse during the Dalke paragraph. On with the story…

5:37

Wilke watched in utter glee as Daphne's grey-blue eyes began to open.

Daphne was shrouded in darkness. She tried to see, but couldn't.

It was slow and Wilke was anticipating her full consciousness, bouncing his knee the whole time.

She couldn't move her right hand. She tried to move her left hand four times.

He ignored the frantic knocking on the door. All he cared about was making sure the beautiful girl in front of him wake up.

The bright light continued to move forward. As it came closer she became more aware of herself.

He held on tight, but not too tight, to her hand at his side. He wanted to tell her he was there or squeeze her hand but he didn't want to startle her.

She was suddenly attentive to the pain in her head, chest and right hand. And no matter how hard she tried she simply couldn't move.

He just kept waiting eagerly as her eyelids fluttered and opened a little further each time.

She saw blond hair sticking out at odd angles. Then a warm but crooked smile. Then Wilke's eyes came into focus.

Her hand tightened on his and he felt as though she were clinging to him to pull out of this coma.

She groaned and cringed as the bright light assaulted her sense of sight.

He held a little tighter to show her he was there and wasn't letting go any time soon.

She wanted to smile and tell him she was alright, if only to ease the worry etched into his features.

Wilke tapped her hand. She opened her eyes long enough to see him sign "**A-r-e you o.k.?**"

He released his hold on her good hand so she could sign back "**I'm o.k.**"

"Oh, thank God," sighed Wilke

He squeezed her hand and she opened her eyes again, a little more than last time as he said "I'm going to open the door," she nodded, too exhausted and overwhelmed to do anything else

He stood and turned towards the door to let her family in. She wanted to protest but couldn't. They rushed past him as if he were an usher not a close family friend. The rush of light, color and movement made her nauseas. Jon seemed angry at Wilke but was too focused on Daphne. Wilke closed the door and watched everyone crowd the small bed.

"Daphne," asked Kathryn, putting her hand on Daphne's shoulder

"**Daphne,**" asked Regina trying to get Daphne to respond

"**Back up, guys**" signed Melody

Bay, Emmet and Toby backed away and stood with Wilke by the door.

Daphne coughed and tried to sit up. Hands flew to keep her down. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?" Regina asked, trying to conceal her worry

"Being angry, I drove back to our old house."

"Then what," Regina persisted

"I don't remember," Daphne answered "What h-a-p-p-e-n-e-d?"

"You were… you got hit by a car." Replied Regina, trying not to cry

"What?" Daphne's brow furrowed and she looked down. _Why don't I remember?_ She didn't realize anyone was trying to get her attention until Regina snapped her fingers in front of her face. Daphne's head snapped upright and she looked at a confused and worried Regina.

"I shook your leg twice to get your attention. Please tell me you felt it and were ignoring me." Regina begged

Daphne picked up her hands to sign, and then put her right one down, since it hurt and Bay was already interpreting what she could. "I didn't feel anything."

"Toby go find Doctor Morris." Jon told his son

"What did Jon say?" Daphne asked

"**He told Toby to go find your doctor.**"

"Oh, I have a headache. Can I get some water or something?"

"Of course, I'll get it." Signed Kathryn

"**Thank you,**" Signed Daphne

"So, you can't feel this at all?" asked Regina, gripping Daphne's leg quite hard

"No, I can't move either. I can't move either of them." Daphne answered, panic creeping into her voice

"Does your back hurt?" asked a tall brown haired man by the door. His name tag read "Morris". Regina, Kathryn, Jon and Angelo turned to see who spoke. Melody, Emmet and Daphne followed their gazes. "That could indicate spinal trauma."

6:04

"What'd he say?"

"**Does your back hurt?**" Asked Regina

"Yes, a little," Daphne answered

"Okay well it could be something, it could be nothing. We won't know until we do another test or two." Answered Dr. Morris "Thankfully the first one is easy, but I'm going to have to ask most of you to leave. Her parents can stay." He had to conceal his confusion when Kathryn and Jon left with Emmet, Bay, Melody, Wilke, Angelo and Toby. _Not your business,_ he told himself.

Regina and Daphne had a quick conversation in sign language, and then Dr. Morris stepped forward to perform the first test. "This is just a simple response test. I'm going to run this pen down your leg and you'll tell me when you can't feel it anymore. Okay?"

"Okay." Answered Daphne

"Just put your hand up when you can't feel it. Look away please." He told her then pulled the covers aside to reveal her long, skinny, scratched and bruised legs. He started at her hip and ran the pen no further than a third down her thigh when her hand shot up. "Okay," Regina told Daphne to put her hand down while Dr. Morris wrote down his observations. He did the same to her other leg and got the same result.

6:49

Forty minutes and five tests later came to a conclusion "You wrist is not as bad as it feels and you should be able to use it again soon but try not to move it yet. You've broken at least one rib though the others around it seem to only be fractured. As far as your head goes, it's bad, but not the worst I've seen. Your concussion is a little worse than we initially thought. We'll have to run an MRI to find the full extent of the damage. Your spinal cord has sustained heavy damage but it doesn't seem permanent. We can check that during your MRI. If the damage is worse than we thought we may have to perform surgery."

"Surgery, what kind of surgery?" asked Regina as fear built inside her. She knew Daphne felt the same way as she squeezed her mother's hand.

"Open back surgery. We need to know the extent of the damage before we can be sure what the procedure will entail."

"Okay, well let's run the MRI then decide." Regina nodded

"Alright by me, I have to tell you though; loss of feeling is caused by a lot of things. None of which are good and almost all of which require surgery." He prescribed some painkillers then left.

Regina took Daphne's hand in both of hers. She started crying without meaning to. "I was so worried," she told Daphne. She made sure her lips were readable, even though they were trembling.

"Mom, I'm fine now. I promise, I'll be okay, I'm sure this leg thing is temporary."

"I hope so. Don't lie to me, are you in any pain?" Regina inquired

"I told you I'm fine. My headache is going away and my ribs are just sore and my hand only hurts when I move it." Daphne insisted

"Okay." Regina smiled

6:50

"Regina," asked Jon stepping into the room

"Yes," she replied

"I'm taking the kids home."

"Okay." Regina nodded as Jon turned and left.

"Can you get me something to eat?" Daphne asked

"Sure," Regina smiled reassuringly as she left

"**Thank you**" Daphne singed. She began playing with the Velcro on the cast on her right wrist. A red light on her bedspread caught her attention. Startled, she looked up to see Angelo standing by the door with a laser pointer. "Why are you here?" she sneered

"What? I can't visit when I find out my daughter is injured?" he asked, innocently

"I am not your daughter. I stopped being your daughter a long time ago. I don't know why you're really here, but I'm not stupid enough to believe you cared enough to come for me." Daphne spat back

"Ouch," Angelo muttered, without a hint of sincerity in his voice "Well I'm here now and I'm not leaving. I don't care if you believe me or not, I'm here because of you."

"That's a lie. That's bull shit and we both know it."

"Fine, take it however you want, but I'm not leaving."

"Why not? No one wants you here! Why stay where you're not wanted?" Daphne stops shouting at her father long enough to realize why he was really there. "Oh my god, you're here for Bay. So that's how it goes? You walk out on one daughter then lie to her face when you come back for the other? I don't know what's worse, that you left us or that you used my injury to come back for Bay."

"Daphne, I did come back for you." Angelo began to sweat as the lie became harder to tell. He tried to reach for her hand but she jerked away.

"Don't touch me!" Daphne snapped "Get out! Get away from me! Go to your precious Bay!"

7:25

Regina walked back towards her daughter's hospital room. She held the tray in front of her and hummed until she heard shouting from inside the room. She rushed to the door and didn't bat an eyelash when some of the food fell off the tray and onto the floor. "What the hell is going on?" she shouted as she entered the room. She saw Angelo looking like a deer in headlights. Then her eyes flicked to Daphne, who stared intently at the man by her bed with a look of pure hate and rage. "Angelo, you need to leave now. And do me a favor: never try to be a carpenter again. I don't want you anywhere near this hospital."

Angelo walked out without a word. Regina set the tray down on a table and went to Daphne's side. "Are you okay?"

Daphne didn't answer right away. "My head is worse and my ribs are more than sore now."

"Where is that damned doctor?" asked Regina, to no one in particular

"He'll be here. It's not that bad, Mom." Daphne tried to convince her mother

"You're a bad liar and he'd better be here soon." Regina looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was coming

"I'm really tired." Daphne told her mother

"Can you wait until he gets here?" Regina asks

"No need, she can sleep during the test." said Dr. Morris. Regina and Daphne turn to look at him. "We're ready for the MRI. If you want to wait, that's fine but they take about an hour and half since we're scanning your spine and head."

"We can do it now." Says Daphne

"Are you sure?" Regina verifies

"Positive," Daphne answers "I want this over with."

"Okay. I'll tell the team to prep. Remove all metal objects please and a team should be by soon to take you for your test." Dr. Morris steps out of the room and walks down the hall.

7:35

A man stand at the nurse's station after having his hand checked out and stitched up by a nurse. He insisted it was fine but the medical personal said otherwise. He looked at the stitching and thought about how he'd acquired this wound…

He'd been walking to the grocery store in need of bread. His neighborhood was rough so he was used to seeing some pretty bad things. He thought he'd seen the worst of the worst until about 11:53 last night. He saw a girl with strawberry- blonde hair lie bleeding and bruised in the middle of the road. Broken glass surrounded her. He walked over to her and bent down, careful of the glass. _Thank God my mother was a nurse,_ he thought. _Airway, breathing, circulation._ Nothing seemed to be blocking her airway. She appeared to be breathing fine, but it looked like exhaling hurt. He checked her pulse. It was thready and weak. The blood in her hair told him she'd suffered a head injury. He took off his jacket and ripped a sleeve off. He then wrapped it around her head.

"Miss," he asked "Hello? Can you hear me?"

After receiving no response he took her left hand. "If you can hear me squeeze my hand," Again nothing, He looked her over. He didn't like the angle at which her right hand bent. He pulled out his phone and called the local ambulance service. "Five minutes my ass," he muttered as he hung up. After several minutes of checking her pockets he found her wallet. He searched for any identification and found a drivers license. 'Daphne Vasquez' it read. He also learned that she was seventeen and deaf. He was about to try to get her attention through sight when sirens blared in the background. He took her hand again, "They're almost here, hold on."

It was then and there that Daniel Harris- Fletcher knew he had not seen it all.

End chapter Four. Review if you want more! Sorry about the late update!


	5. Chapter 5

7:48

"Mr. Harris- Fletcher I presume?" asked a brown haired man, pulling Daniel from his memories

"Um, Daniel, call me Daniel." Daniel corrected the doctor as he shook the older man's hand.

"Doctor Morris. Well Daniel, I hope you know that what you did was not only heroic but well timed. If you hadn't gotten there when you did, my patient would be a lot worse off than she is now." Doctor Morris informed him

"Well thank you, Doctor." Said Daniel, knowing that modesty was best in this situation

"May I ask how you knew what to do? The paramedics said you gave them everything they needed to know, no more no less. Do you have any medical training?"

Daniel flashed back to the accident scene…

The ambulance pulled around the corner just as Daniel was starting to get irritated. He'd heard his mother talk about slow ambulance drivers being the cause of many deaths before arrival at the hospital. He tried not to get pissed as the paramedics climbed out of their vehicle and rushed over to Daphne.

"Sir, can you tell me the patient's name and age?" asked one of the medics. The man was African- American and deep voiced.

"Daphne Vasquez, she's seventeen but she's deaf."

"Kyle, what do you need?" asked the red haired man in the back of the ambulance

"Henry, I'm going to need a collar and a board. Get me a splint and some gauze." Called Kyle

"Got it," replied Henry

"How do you know the patient, sir? How are you involved in this accident?" asked Kyle

"I don't know her. I found her driver's license, but other than that I don't know who she is. I was walking by when I came upon the scene." Answered Daniel

"Thank you," replied Kyle, checking Daphne's pulse

Henry came with the supplies Kyle had asked for and Daniel watched the medics get to work. They were fast and professional and obviously long time colleagues, Daniel observed, as they worked in sync and without a word to each other. Henry and Kyle lifted Daphne into the cab of the ambulance. She didn't respond to any of their tests, even when they shined a small light in her eyes.

Henry climbed into the cab, "I'll take this one, and you go drive."

Kyle jerked slightly as if caught off guard, but kept right on working on splinting Daphne's wrist, "Nope, it's my turn. I drove last time."

"You don't know sign language. Don't give me that look; I took a class in college. I'll take this one in case she wakes up." Said Henry, as he hooked Daphne up to an I.V

"Whatever," said Kyle, finishing his splint then climbing into the front seat

Daniel began to close the back doors until he noticed a thin bracelet on the ground where he had found Daphne. He jumped out, grabbed it, and then scrambled back into the ambulance. He closed the doors and ignored Henry's confused gaze.

"Mr. - um, Daniel?" asked Doctor Morris

"Sorry, I guess I just, listened as a kid. My mother was a nurse."

Doctor Morris nodded. "I have to go now, but thank you for calling emergency services, often people make the mistake of driving the patient to the hospital. Thank you for reacting properly."

7: 50

Bay and Toby walked sleepily to bed. Jon allowed Emmet to stay but insisted that the guest room farthest from Bay's bedroom would be best. Kathryn was taking blankets to Emmet's room when she noticed a small box on a chair outside the room. A thin cord ran from the box and under the door. Kathryn recognized it as the flashing door bell system that Regina and Daphne used. She pressed the button and waited only a moment as Emmet came to the door.

"I brought blankets," said Kathryn, feeling stupid for stating the obvious

"**Thank you,**" singed Emmet, then took the blankets from Kathryn

"**You're welcome,**" she signed back "**Sorry about Jon.** **You know how Father's are.**"

"**Actually, I don't,**" answered Emmet

"**Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that you,**" Kathryn paused

"**Its fine,**" Emmet signed, smiling reassuringly

"**Well, I'm going to go, do you need anything else?**"

"**No, thank you,**"

Kathryn nodded and left. She closed the door then stood for a minute. Sighing she decided to go check on Bay and Toby. As she made her way to her children's rooms she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

"Hello?"

"Kathryn, it's Regina, Daphne just went to have an MRI. They think there's something wrong with her spine and that her concussion is worse than they originally thought."

"Oh my god. Will she be okay?" Kathryn asked

"What's going on?" asks Jon, Kathryn holds up her index finger to tell him to stop talking

" says he won't know until he runs the test. You should stay and get some rest. I just called to keep you posted." Regina's voice comes through tired and worried and cracked from crying

"Thank you, you should sleep too." Advises Kathryn

"I'll try." Says Regina, as she closes the phone and collapses on to Daphne's hospital bed

8:10

"That's our queue. Let's get some sleep, okay?" Kathryn nods towards their bedroom

"What was that about?" asks Jon

"I'll tell you when I can keep my eyes open for more than three minute intervals." Quips Kathryn

8:11

Daphne had been in the MRI machine for at least half an hour now. She was oblivious to the loud metallic clicks behind her head; however the dim light was irritating to her strengthened eyes. She kept quiet and still. Before she knew it the test was over and Doctor Morris was shaking her good hand.

"How long was I in there?" asks Daphne, sitting up

"About an hour and a half,"

Daphne looked at the clock above the door:

9:15

"Lie back down" says one of the nurses, gently guiding Daphne back down, since she had not heard her

"Sorry," mumbles Daphne

The nurse only nods as kept talking

"We will have the results in about an hour or two. Right now we'll just take you back to your room and you can rest up a bit. Okay?"

"**O.K.**,"

9:20

"Ma'am," says a calm voice behind Regina

Regina wakes with a start and looks at the nurse, confused

"The patient is coming in, Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to get off the bed." Says the nurse

"Oh, sorry," says Regina sliding off the bed to go sit in a chair until Daphne came in

Regina watched quietly as the nurses brought Daphne in and helped her into her bed even though she couldn't move her legs or hear them. Regina was impressed by their teamwork and professionalism.

"You okay?" asked Regina as she walked toward the bed

"We won't know until we get the results in an h-o-u-r or two." Daphne replies

"You look exhausted. Get some sleep." Daphne opens her mouth to argue but decides against it

"**O.K.**,"

10:42

"Ms. Vasquez," asks Dr. Morris, approaching Regina in the cafeteria

"Yes," she responds

"I have Daphne's test results; can we discuss them with her?"

"I came down here to let her sleep. I want her to get her rest."

"Oh, I understand completely. However I can assure you she's quite awake now, I went past her room on my way to the lab and she was reading a magazine."

"Bay," muttered Regina, shaking her head knowingly "Well alright, I guess we can go to her room,"

"After you," nods Dr. Morris

10:47

Regina and Dr. Morris walk into Daphne's room. Daphne notices the movement and looks up from her magazine.

"I told you to sleep."

"Couldn't, sorry," Daphne sets the magazine aside and looks at the manila folder in Dr. Morris's hand

He catches her stare and brings the folder up so he can read off the results "there's no severe damage to your spine but there are a few loose bone fragments that appear to have done the damage to your nerves. As far as your head goes the damage is a bit worse so we need to watch for sudden loss of consciousness or other severe symptoms. The nerve damage will require surgery, but it's not as major as it sounds."

"Let's do it," says Daphne, only seconds after Dr. Morris finishes

"What?" Regina rounds on Daphne "You should give this some thought. Consider what might go wrong or find out the success rate."

"No, if I think about that stuff, I'll never be able to do this. If it will help, I want to do it as soon as I can. Before any of that stuff scares me and I change my mind." Daphne insists

Regina stares at her daughter and knows that she will not change her mind. She hesitates, then answers "Okay,"

"Alright I'll see what I can do." Dr. Morris closed his folder then left the room

"I'm going to call Kathryn and Jon and let them know, okay?" Regina had meant to stay strong, but on the last word her voice cracked

"Mom, don't cry, please. I'll be fine," Daphne gave her mother a pleading, look begging her to stop sobbing

"I'm okay," says Regina, regaining her composure "I'm going to make that call, okay?"

"**O.K.**,"

10:59

"Kathryn, pick up the phone," mumbled Regina into her small black phone

"Excuse me, ma'am?" asks a tall brown haired man in a leather jacket behind Regina

"Can I help you?" asks Regina, ending her attempted call

"Do you know the patient in room 105?" asks the tall man

"Yes, she's my daughter. Why do you ask?" Regina steps back from the man, becoming suspicious

"My name is Daniel Harris- Fletcher; I… um… I was the one who found your daughter and called 911."

"Oh my god, thank you, so much," cried Regina throwing her arms around Daniel's neck "I can't thank you enough. Oh god, I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't found her."

"I was just walking along and saw her," said Daniel, trying to be modest

Regina released her grip on Daniel "Well whatever you did it worked and it saved my baby girl's life," Regina looked to Daphne's room, "I don't know what to say, I can't thank you enough or find the words to express my gratitude. If there's anything you need or anything I can do for you, name it."

Daniel smiles at the woman's ramblings "I didn't catch your name,"

"Regina," she answers

"Well, Regina, I don't need anything but thanks for the offer. I was just raised to help whoever I could whenever I could."

"Thank you," cries Regina, again hugging Daniel

Daniel only smiles as Regina's phone begins to ring and she scrambles to let go of him and answer it. She mouths 'excuse me' to him then walks away to answer the phone.

11:02

Daniel runs his hands through his short hair and glances into room 105. The girl with the strawberry blonde hair in the hospital bed looks so different yet so similar to the girl he'd found earlier. Now she was awake and the blood was washed out of her hair, but she was still scratched and bruised. He didn't realize anyone had said his name until Regina put a hand on his arm.

"You want to talk to her?" Regina asked him

"Not yet. I heard say something about a surgery. I don't want to overstress her."

"Okay. That's really considerate Daniel."

"Thanks," Daniel mumbles

"I hope you don't mind my asking how did you know what to do when you found her?"

"My mother, she was a nurse."

"She must be very proud."

"She would be. She died about a year ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I have a bad habit of speaking before I think and asking personal questions."

Daniel smiled "Its fine. She was the same way. She could never curb her tongue."

"Yeah I know how that is." Chuckled Regina

"So is she going to be okay?"

" said she won't die. She's got a concussion and she's got nerve damage which explains why she can't feel or move her legs." Regina mused

"Do they think she'll get her feeling and motion back?" Daniel asked

"They think so. That's what the surgery is for."

"Speaking of surgery," said from behind "We're ready to take her in now."

Regina looked into Daphne's room as all color drained from her face. "Okay. I'll go tell her."

11:08

Daphne looked up from her magazine at her mom as she entered the room. "Is e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g alright?"

"**Yes. They're ready for your surgery now. Are you sure you want to do this?**"

"Positive," Daphne nods

"**O.K.**," Regina leans out into the hallway "She's ready,"

"I'll send in the team" said as he pulled out his phone

"She's going to be okay," said Daniel trying to reassure Regina

"Thank you Daniel," smiled Regina trying to staunch the flow of tears

Wordlessly Daniel pulled the crying stranger into a hug. Regina didn't protest, only cried harder as the gurney wheeled by. Daphne didn't look around just stared at the ceiling, lost in her own little world.

11:17

Regina's phone went off in her pocket. She pulled back from Daniel and wiped her face as she tried to read the small screen. "It's an alarm to remind me to clean the house. I set alarms for everything."

"It's okay. If you want I can help you so you can get some rest. I don't really have anything else to do." Offered Daniel

Regina smiled up at the tall man in front of her "Thank you Daniel, that would be great,"


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! Okay I have lots to say here, but please don't scroll down, it's important. One, I'm turning this chapter in to my English teacher so a little feedback from you before I let her read it would be awesome. Two, I'm going to bring in some original characters soon and if you want I will include a character of your design. There are only three spots open, so first come first serve. Message me with your character's information. I need three things: your character will be deaf or hard of hearing, so I need you to choose which and then decide if they were born that way, or acquired it (and if so how?). Second I need name, age and physical appearance. Thirdly I need a brief history and three words to describe them. Oh, and I put music with a few scenes and I put the titles in parenthesis next to the time stamp for each scene. Enjoy!

11:32

Regina began to put away the dishes while Daniel stood and watched getting the layout of their kitchen.

"So you were given the wrong daughter?" he asked trying to clarify what he'd been told in the car

"Yes. I got their blonde haired and blue eyed baby and they got my Puerto Rican brown eyed beauty." Regina smiled, quoting her mother on the last part

"And they let you stay in their guest house so you could get to know Bay and they could get to know Daphne?"

"That's correct. You're catching on quick."

"Thanks. I always was a fast learner."

"It sounds like a plot from a movie," Regina put down her dishcloth and turned to face Daniel, who'd settled comfortably at the dining room table "I still wake up some mornings and think that it must be a dream. Sometimes I think the switch never happened. Others I think we've never found out. But in the end it happened and we learned about it. I'm glad the switch happened. I almost don't want to sue the hospital."

Daniel stared at Regina's thoughtful expression. "Do you want me to finish up out here?"

Regina looked up as if she'd forgotten Daniel was there "Oh, yes, that'd be fine. I'm going to go clean the rest of the house."

Daniel watched Regina walk away and hoped that she'd be alright. He began to wash and put away the dishes, when he heard sniffling from down the hall. He set down what he'd been holding and walked towards the sound.

11:46 (When you're gone- Avril Lavigne)

Regina sat on Daphne's bed and held onto her favorite shirt. She didn't know she was crying until the shirt she'd been holding became soaked with salty water. Regina ran her hand over her daughter's bed spread. The bed was made and straightened. Regina let out a small laugh as she thought about her room in comparison with her daughter's room. Every surface in Regina's master bedroom was covered in clutter. However Daphne's room had order and a visible floor. Regina flashed back to the day they moved into the Kennishes guest house,

"Aren't teenagers supposed to be messy?" she asked

"Not me," Daphne replied, hanging her clothes in her closet "Okay, this bedroom could Eat my old bedroom."

"Don't I know it? The garage alone could eat our old house!"

Daphne laughed and shook her head. "Twenty bucks says Kathryn's room is neat and Bay's is a train wreck."

"My room is not a train wreck." Said Regina, so caught off guard by the truth in Daphne's statement that she'd forgotten to sign

Luckily Daphne had stopped hanging shirts and was watching her mother. She gave her best "you know its true" look and went back to cleaning

"Unfortunately you're probably right." Regina signed, defeated

"It still feels made up." Daphne sighed "It hasn't really sunk in yet that this is happening. Promise me this is real and not some sick joke?"

Regina tried not to think of the guitar case in her closet "I promise."

Regina snapped back to the present when Daniel failed to hold back a sneeze. She sat up and turned to him. "Oh, I'm sorry I was just going to ask you where to pots and pans go." He said quickly

"Oh, it's fine. They go in the cupboard next to the stove."

"That would make sense." He nodded, it was a lame question, but it was what he'd said and she didn't seem to notice his nervous expression.

"Daniel," called Regina as the now embarrassed man began to turn away "Thank you,"

Daniel simply nodded at the double meaning those words held.

12:00 (Keep holding on- Avril Lavigne)

Bay sat down on a chair in Daphne's hospital room. Her mind went to her conversation with Daphne in their kitchen, the one about the 3rd grade girls. Bay'd been bullied before. Everyone has. But what Daphne went through made Bay angry with how she'd treated Daphne at first. No one in Bay's school could have put up with that much garbage. Bay thought about the things she'd heard after Daphne almost burned down the kitchen classrooms. She could only imagine what crap would be going around tomorrow. Bay had heard that when people were in surgery that sending them good luck helped; that they could feel it and stuff. At first Bay'd thought it was crazy, but now, as she sat and sent every positive thought she could come up with to Daphne, she hoped it would work. Bay's mind kept going back to the accident with the kitchens and how upset Daphne had been after wards. Bay had come upon her sitting on the patio with a book propped up on her knees. Her eyes weren't moving, so Bay guessed she wasn't even reading.

Bay reached towards her- was she a sister, a friend? - Towards Daphne but pulled back when she looked up. "I heard about what happened at school today."

"What did you hear?" asked Daphne assuming an expression that was a mix of embarrassment and guilt

"That you almost set the kitchen classroom on fire." Bay watched Daphne's face turn red and immediately regretted bringing it up

"I feel like such an idiot. I knew we'd be using bell timers, I should have made Wilke stay until it went off or put it in front of me or something." Ranted Daphne

"Daphne, it wasn't your fault. I don't know what happened, but it's not your fault the school wasn't equipped with the right stuff." Bay tried to help, but having not been there, she only knew what she'd been told

"It wasn't the school's fault either. I should've known to bring my own timer; I knew Buckner was a hearing school. I should've brought my own supplies." Daphne signed

"Will you stop beating yourself up?" Bay snapped

"That Clover chick was just like Hannah. I felt like I was in the third grade all over again!"

"That Clover chick is an idiot. She's been held back twice and only passes her classes because she pays people to get the answers for her. Don't take anything she says seriously because she doesn't even know the definition of half the words she uses."

Daphne laughed at Bay's comment. "Thanks Bay, I just wish there was something I could do to show them it's not a bad thing to have me in their school."

"What if you made something and brought it in for them? You know like some desert or something and showed your teacher."

Daphne considered Bay's idea, "Oh my god, Bay, you're a genius. That might work!"

Daphne stood, set her book aside, hugged Bay then quickly ran towards the door.

"Daphne wait!" called Bay, as she sprang up and put a hand on Daphne's shoulder. Daphne spun around and looked at Bay "I have a question for you. It might seem totally out of the blue, but what do we call each other?"

Daphne looked at Bay curiously "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we're not exactly sisters, but 'friends' doesn't seem to capture the uniqueness of the situation." Bay explained

Daphne looked down and seemed to consider it for a moment. "Switchsters,"

"Switchsters," Bay thought about it and liked how it sounded "O.K."

Bay slowly pulled out of her memory and laughed at the way Daphne's mood changed on a dime. _She gets that from Mom, _Bay thought.

She looked at the black and white clock on the white wall of the hospital room. It read 12:30. Bay didn't realize how long she'd been here. _I should probably get back before everyone starts to freak out._

12:45 (Untitled- simple plan, invincible- Jesse McCartney)

Kathryn drove through the neighborhood where Kathryn and Daphne used to live. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to find the crash site. She didn't have a plan in mind she just started driving around. She tried to ignore the stares and sneers as her expensive car rolled through the graffiti covered neighborhood. Her thoughts drifted for a moment and she didn't realize she'd found what she was looking for until she saw the blood. In the middle of the road there were six or seven blood spots. Hot salty tears rolled cascaded down Kathryn's face. She thought back to high school when her friend, May, died in a car accident. It was freshman year, and Kathryn had just gotten her driver's license. Her younger friend May had called her from a party saying she was drunk and needed a ride.

"May, you're fifteen! Why are you drinking?" Kathryn hissed into her phone

May giggled and laughed "Well, Tommy was here and he offered me a drink so I did. It was amazing, Katie. You don't even know how awesome this feels!"

"May," Kathryn sighed "Just stay there, okay? Don't even go to the end of the driveway. Just stay there. And for God's sake don't drink anything else!"

"Whatever, loser." Mumbled May, then hung up the phone after a loud shout

When Kathryn showed up at the party it took twenty minutes to find May, but when she finally did her friend was lip locking with a senior.

"Alright, we're going home before your Dad kills you." Kathryn snatched the cup full of beer from May and pulled her apart from the dazed looking upperclassmen,

"Aw, Katie, lighten up! This is a party. Duh," May giggled again

"Car, now," demanded Kathryn

"Okay, God." Snapped May "Kill joy,"

Kathryn followed May as she stumbled to the car. She began her lecture as she helped May into the car and put her seat belt on for her "What were you thinking? Your parents are going to murder you! You promised them you'd grow up a little this year."

May wasn't paying any attention to Kathryn's speech and continued to giggle to herself. By now they were only a few minutes away from their neighborhood. "What're you doing? You just passed your street?"

"We're not going to my house," Kathryn told her friend

"Katie, don't take me home. I don't want to go back there." May mumbled groggily

"May, I'm done covering for you. You need to stop going to these stupid parties."

"Katie, if they find out, I'll never get my license." May begged

"That's not my problem." Kathryn shrugged

"Katie, turn around." May snapped

"No," she snapped back

"Katie, don't take me home!" May demanded

"No, May."

"Katie, damn it," shouted May

"Shut up, May." Said Kathryn, May didn't like this very much and lunged to take the wheel "May what're you doing!"

"Turn around, Katie!" yelled May as she and Kathryn fought for control of the car

"May, let go!" cried Kathryn trying to shove her friend back into her seat

"Katie, look out!" screamed May

Kathryn looked ahead just in time to see the wide oak tree trunk coming closer at an incomprehensible speed. Both girls screamed and clutched at each other. Kathryn blacked out. When she woke she was bleeding from her head and dazed. She'd forgotten all about having a passenger in the car when she saw the flames on the hood of the vehicle. She kicked open her door and crawled away from the wreckage. When she was a safe distance from the demolished car she looked back. A pale hand was just visible laying limp on the dashboard.

"May," whispered Kathryn as she remembered why she was driving at two in the morning in the first place. "May!" she called, just before the car exploded "MAY! No!" Kathryn screamed.

The rest of that night was a blur, but the memory still brought tear to Kathryn's eyes every time. Now years later her daughter was in a hit and run. _What kind of monster hits someone and doesn't even stop?_ Kathryn thought. Then another thought occurred to her, _Maybe not a monster, but a drunk, immature, teenager like May._ Kathryn leaned back in her seat. _I'm sorry, May. I'm so, so sorry._

1:15 (Tin man- Kenny Chesney, clubbed to death- rob dougan)

Jon threw yet another basketball into the hoop. His sweaty palms made grabbing a ball difficult and he had to chase one half ways across the gym. When he finally caught the orange sphere he looked up at the Carlton school mural on the wall. He sighed and sat on the lowest bench on the bleachers and wished he'd been able to sleep last night. Jon angrily threw the ball he'd been holding at the nearest wall. He wished he'd been hit, not Daphne. He wished the switch didn't happen, but only for a second. Then he wished for a solution to all these problems: he wished he didn't have a heart, that way he'd never ever feel as hopeless and heartbroken as he did then. He knew all hope wasn't lost, but he knew it was running thin.

"Why not me?" he shouted furiously at the ceiling, "Huh? Why my daughter? Why not me? You want to punish me for something? Is that it?"

He stood in the middle of the gym fuming, sweating and breathing so heavily he was almost panting. He held out his arms "I'm right here! Punish me!"

When nothing happened, he flew into a rage "Answer me!" he bellowed as he knocked over ball racks and kicked over benches. When there was nothing else he could take his anger out on, Jon stood in the by the wall and cried for what seemed like years…

1:30 (misguided ghosts- paramore)

Toby shuffled the deck for what seemed like the eightieth time. Folding and slicing, folding and slicing, a motion his hands knew all too well. He ran his hand across the green felt of his poker table. Guilt surged through him. He remembered that night of the poker game with Emmet, Wilke and Daphne. He shouldn't have tried to cheat. He shouldn't have blamed Daphne because Wilke had outsmarted them. He felt like such a jerk. He thought selling his amps would make it better and get him money, but all it did was get him money. Now both of his sisters were mad at him. His conscience was killing him. Toby mentally made a list of regrets: breaking up with Liz Stanford last year, cheating, stealing the test, hurting Bay, and yelling at the one person who'd been willing to help him with his poker game.

Toby opened his smart phone and went to Google. 'Survival rate for open back surgery' he typed. Coming up empty, Toby let his phone fall out of his hand and onto the oak poker table in front of him. He put his head in his hands and tried not to think about Daphne or his killer headache. The phone buzzed as Toby received a text.

"Shut up," he muttered, kicking the table

The phone kept buzzing. "I said shut up," he growled

His efforts were futile and his phone kept vibrating on the felt. "What?" he snapped as he looked angrily at the screen 'new text from dad'. Toby opened the message.

"At Carlton's school gym. Ran here. Don't want to run back. Come get me."

"On my way," he typed back. As he reached for his car keys, he froze. "Carlton? Where have I heard that before?"

The smell of car oil and soap filled Toby's mind as he remembered the car wash. He texted back "Why are you at Daphne's school?"

"Don't ask," his father replied

Toby walked to his car and turned it on. A cross hung on a necklace from his rearview mirror. He yanked on it, not caring that the string had broken and beads flew everywhere, then shoved it in the glove box and slammed it shut.

1:45 (from where you are- Lifehouse)

Emmet drove back home to get a few clean clothes and tell his mom he'd be staying at the Kennishes for a few days. As he walked into his room he realized what a rush he was in to get to the hospital that night. He walked over to his closet and pulled a shirt out. As he grabbed another it got caught on the hanger and when he finally got it off his arm elbowed his photo board. Oblivious to the crash it made, Emmet didn't realize it had fallen until he turned and saw a picture of Daphne stare up at him from the floor.

Emmet fell to his knees and picked it up, along with others that had been knocked out of place. He sat back on his heels and held the photo of his smiling friend. Emmet knew he was crying once his vision became cloudy. He furiously wiped away the tears, not wanting to lose sight of her. When he realized his efforts were fruitless, he let the tears fall, hot and fast onto his hands. He knew his mother was watching him but didn't care. He knew he probably looked stupid but he didn't care. All he wanted was to let it out. Emmet never realized how much he cared about Daphne. He loved Bay, but Daphne would always be his best friend. She will always be important to him, but he just couldn't think of her as a girlfriend. He had a horrible thought of losing Daphne while she's in surgery then of never meeting Bay. The thought of living without either of them terrified Emmet. He cried harder.

When he finally staunched the flow of tears, he continued packing, but he had one more thing in his back pack than he'd planned: A picture of Daphne.

2:10 (come back to me- trading yesterday)

Wilke pulled into the driveway and hesitated. After studying the house and deciding it was the one Daphne had said used to be hers, Wilke went to the porch. Surprisingly the door swung open after only a slight nudge.

"This place is like a garage." He wrinkled his nose at the smell "Okay then. Upstairs."

Wilke found the smallest bedroom and hoped it had been Daphne's as he sat on the floor.

"I don't know if this actually works but, I read that people in surgery have a higher chance of survival if their loved ones send them positive energy. I know you can't hear me, but I'm going to talk anyway. I really want you to be okay, Daphne and not just because you're Toby's sister or anything but because I, um, I want you to be as in to me as I'm in to you. I don't want to jump into something if you don't want to, but I guess I just, I don't know because I like you and I know that doesn't mean much from a guy like me, but it's different with you. You're different… in a good way. I guess I'm just sick of all those rich, prep school girls. I want something new. Something better. Something special. I want you, Daphne. I want you to be okay. I want you to like me and I want you to believe me when I tell you how much I like you." Wilke stopped and stared at the window. The wind was blowing lazily outside and he'd just realized how stuffy it was inside the tiny house. No sooner had he opened the window did a large gust of wind blow straight in at him. A piece of paper flew out of the closet. It had writing all over it. It seemed to be a note written in class. Most of the lines were faded and partially erased, but two words at the bottom of the page were bold and clear 'me too'. Wilke smiled at the paper, then at the window. "Well okay then,"

End chapter six.

So what'd you think? I think this is the longest chapter yet! So remember: review and message me!


	7. Chapter 7

Okay so this will be difficult to write because it is from Daphne's point of view. I will try to include everyone but it might be hard. Bear with me. Chapter eight will include those original characters I told you about so don't worry, they'll be there. Feel free to tell me if I don't quite live up to what you expected. I will do what I can with what you gave me and guess with the rest. Okay, here it goes…

I run towards my father. I must have been shouting because he turns to me before I get there. I say something else and point to the swings. He puts down his piece of cake next to pink birthday balloons and picks me up. He puts me on his shoulders as we go to the swings. He sets me on a "Big kid" swing. I stare at him, puzzled and point to a sign that reads "Three and up". Dad nods towards my party. I know that I won't be three until tomorrow, but decide not to say anything. I turn to thank him, but I don't get the chance. Next thing I know, I'm flying! The sky comes towards me, and then I see mom, then the sky again. I begin to smile, as my last happy memory with Angelo Sorrento fades to black.

Before I can get my bearings I'm thrown into another memory. This time, I hold the straps of my new purple back pack. I looked out the window at my new classmates. They're all talking to each other with their hands. I look back at mom. "You'll do fine. They're just like you, you have nothing to worry about." Mom tried to use the language her new friend Melody had taught us, but in the end she had to write it down for me. "Can we practice again?" I write back. This language was hard, but everyone here knew it, so I tried my best to learn it. Mom and I ran through the whole alphabet. I only messed up on 'T', 'N', 'M', 'P' and 'K'. "You'll get it," wrote mom. I looked back to the school, hugged my mom, and then walked towards the building. Just before I reach the door, a blonde boy taps my shoulder. It was Emmet! The boy who saved me from Hannah. The boy who helped me learn to speak with my hands. He didn't sign or say anything. He just took my hand and walked me to my classroom. As my first day at Carlton's elementary building fades away, a new memory comes in clear.

Bay and I are walking around the mall, both signing. She's practicing, but I'm just glad I don't have to keep asking what she said. We're only window shopping but we're having fun. When we walk through the food court one of Bay's friends recognizes her. She somehow talks him into getting us free drinks. We walk out of the mall with our sodas laughing the whole time. as we sit down in her monster of a car, she turns to me with a serious look on her face. **"Promise you're not still mad about Emmet? I know I've asked you a million times, but I'm just trying to keep things straight." **I look at Bay and laugh. **"Yes, Bay, I promise, I'm over Emmet. I'm kind of into someone else."** Her eyes widen just as I knew they would **"Oh my god. Who?" **she demands. **"W-i-l-k-e." **she smiles wide **"I knew it." "How long have you know?" "Oh you know since you both skipped school on the same day." "And that was all you needed to know? You didn't ask him or look for any other clues?" "Nope," "Wow. You must be a descendant of cupid if you're that good."** I sign sarcastically **"What? I'm just that good at reading people. And you guys aren't exactly subtle either. The car wash was a dead giveaway." **I glare at her playfully** "Drive" I **command her, pointing at the wheel** "Yes, ma'am" **she laughs. As the memory ends, I can feel myself smiling.

I am with Melody and Emmet at our house. Emmet and I are about ten years old. Melody is technically babysitting me, but it's more of a play date. Emmet and I run around the yard smiling and laughing and playing tag. Neither can hear the other, but both know that we're both having fun. Next is 'hide and seek'. We're both pretty good at hiding, but I have to say Emmet is much better than me. Half the time he has to come out because it's been ten minutes and I haven't found him. I'm determined to beat him this time. I hide in the garage under a shelf, it's dirty, but I want to beat him so badly, I didn't care. He walks into the garage and I hold my breath each time he looks in my direction. He smiles as he sees me. I wiggle out from beneath the shelf. "You weren't supposed to find me!" I sign in false anger. "Actually I was. It's the point of the game. Remember?" he smiles. I playfully shove him backwards. A guitar case falls off a shelf. It has locks on it, but it sat on the floor, wide open. Emmet and I walk towards it. There are pictures of a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes. "Is this your mom?" Emmet asks. "I don't know." I've never seen these pictures before. Both of us being deaf, neither of us knew mom was home until she came into the garage. She walked towards us, snatched the pictures from our hands, put them back in the case and slammed it shut. "Never open this again." She signed furiously.

It's about a week before I go to Buckner. I'm nervous and I know it shows. I wander around a lot of the time, thinking if I should go or not. Once while I'm pacing on the basketball court, Kathryn comes up to me, "Daphne" she asks "Yes" "Are you alright?" "I'm fine." I lied "Do you need help with anything?" "Actually, yes. I want to do my hair so no one will see my hearing aids" I admit "Well, why not ask Regina? She does hair for a living." "If I told her I wanted to cover my hearing aids, I'd get a long lecture on deaf pride. I don't want that." "Do you want me to help? I've done Bay's hair for plenty of dance recitals." "Seriously? Thank you so much." "Sure. Anytime how about later tonight. After dinner?" "Thanks Mom." I caught myself and turned back to Kathryn "I mean Kathryn. Sorry." "Don't be. You can call me mom if you'd like." "Thanks Kathryn" sometimes I wish I'd signed Mom again. Others I'm glad I caught myself. I know Kathryn was happy that I'd called her 'Mom' but I felt like I was betraying my mom somehow. I didn't get much more time to ponder this though as I was shown another memory.

This time Jon and I are sitting in his car the night we had dinner together. "So," he began awkwardly "Thanks for dinner," I said "no problem," I could tell my staring at him made him uncomfortable, but I couldn't tell what he was saying if I didn't. "So, if you ever want to come by again just call. Or text or something." "I'll text." I tried not to make this anymore uncomfortable than it already was, but I knew that if we didn't keep talking, the awkwardness would feed on the silence. "I really like your house," I tell him "Thanks," he says "turn left." I tell him "thanks" he says again I knew he didn't know what else to say, but I wished he'd say something. Anything. "Right here," I told him as we pulled up to the house "okay," I don't remember much of our conversation, but I remember hugging him and not wanting to let go. This is my Dad. I thought. It felt right, but I tried not to cling when he began to let go. I walked up to my porch wordlessly and opened the door, thinking about Jon and Kathryn and Toby the whole time. Even if I was the only one who saw it as luck, I felt lucky to have two families. Even if Bay didn't like me very much.

Hope you liked it. I will write an actual chapter next time. I just wanted to get more Daphne scenes. Let me know what you think. Did I do well writing in a point of view or did I botch it? Review to let me know. I'm sorry if it seems short. There are still spots open for characters! Only two, spots left! PM me! Come one people! Okay that's all. Review!


	8. Author's note

Hey guys. Sorry I'm working on about three stories, two one-shots and two endings for this story. Add on school and I'm spread pretty thin. I will post what I can when I can, so be checking my profile to see if I added a story. I'm so sorry it took a while to put this up. I will work on this story as much as I can, but I also have a few other things in mind at the moment, bear with me. I hope you all had splendid holidays! I know I did. I also enjoyed the premiere of Switched at Birth, winter season.

Like I said about two endings, unfortunately for me, I'm really good at writing tragedies. So ending one is a tragedy. It will be immediately Dalke with a splash of EBay. Ending two, will be your cliché, happy, Disney ending. It will be eventually Dalke and a splash of EBay.

Again, I'm really sorry that it took so long, but I was busy, so please forgive me.

-Ultrablonde


	9. Chapter 8

Hello my lovely readers! I'm so unbelievably sorry that it took FOREVER to update. I'm in a writing class so I have plenty of time to write now. These are just a bunch of little snippets as a reward for sticking with me for so long! I give a special shout out to Kittenamos, zana, amachill48, and xRainbowNinjax. Okay, here goes…

* * *

><p>Regina didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust Danny. He was like Angelo had been. He was nice, sweet and quiet. Regina laughed inwardly, that's where Danny had Angelo beat: quiet. Angelo always had an opinion. Danny just sat there, silently, while Regina rambled on about everything from Bay to her hair salon.<p>

"Alright, now that you know every little detail about my life, it's your turn." Regina smirked

"I was never good at biographies," Danny laughed

"Well this isn't graded; I just want to know where you learned… whatever it was that saved my daughter's life."

Danny looked down modestly "I guess you just pick up on things when your mother is a nurse."

Regina sat at the table with him and decided this would take some prodding "What does your father do?"

"Never met him," answered Danny frankly

"Sorry," nodded Regina "got any siblings?"

"A twin sister, Malory, and a younger sister, named Emily. She's the youngest by two years."

Regina shifted in her seat as Danny told her everything. He talked about his temporary job at a coffee shop and his final year of college. He told her his career goal "I want to be a chef."

"So does Daphne. Well that and a professional basketball player." Regina began tearing up at the mention of her teenaged daughter's name

"Hey, I know you're sick of hearing this, but I'm sure it's going to be okay." Danny assured her

"Thank you for taking my mind off of this. First the cochlear thing, then the accident, then Angelo and I just…" Regina paused and exhaled "I just needed a break."

"You're welcome." He answered, and then stood "shall we?"

Regina looked up as he held one had out to her and motioned the other to the door. She took it, smiled and answered "I'll drive."

* * *

><p>Kathryn paced in the study as Jon and Toby pulled into the driveway. As the men made their way up the walk, Kathryn rushed to the door to meet them "Where's bay? She won't answer her phone." Kathryn blurted<p>

"She's not with you?" asked Jon

"I haven't seen her since I left the hospital." Toby added

"She's probably with Emmet." Jon reasoned, the over protective glare, that usually shone when Emmet was brought up, was not present.

"We need to talk, Jon." Kathryn said as she turned back into the house

Toby and Jon shuffled in after her. Jon followed her to the living room, while Toby stayed by the stairs.

"What's this about?" Jon questioned

"Daphne," replied Kathryn, exposing the elephant in the room. She watched the sadness fill her husband's eyes. "Among other things, like Angelo," Jon clenched his fist "and the law suit," Jon nodded solemnly. "And the police,"

Jon looked up quickly and gaped at Kathryn. He was about to speak but Toby interrupted "did they find the guy who hit Daphne?"

"I'll kill him." Muttered Jon darkly

"They have a lead, yes but they're not sure yet."

Toby cut across again as Jon leapt to his feet "What about the law suit?"

"I want to drop it," Kathryn admitted

"What," Jon fumed

"I don't want to sue the hospital." She looked down at her shoes becoming quiet. Them out of nowhere, she looked up and seemed to make eye contact with both of them at once. The boys were startled. Neither had ever seen the normally easy- going woman be so furious. "I want to sue the pants off the sick freak that almost took our daughter's life."

* * *

><p>Angelo paced the floor of his apartment. He clenched his fist, and then spread his fingers, over and over again. He held his fist in front of his face, his thumb out slightly. "A"<p>

He straightened his fingers and angled his thumb over his palm, "B"

He curved his hand into a half- circled shape "C"

He closed the loop and pointed his index finger towards the ceiling. "D"

His mind went blank as he paused to make the next letter "What is 'E'?" he mumbled

He looked at his computer screen and as the image jogged his memory he curled all of his fingers inward, but not quiet closing the fist "E"

He straightened his middle, ring and small fingers. Then touched the tip of his index finger to the tip of his thumb "F"

He ran through the entire American Sign Language alphabet; his muscles memorizing each movement.

Once confident in his ability to fingerspell, Angelo attempted names.

"B-A-Y," then "R-E-G-I-N-A," next was "A-N-G-E-L-O," and finally "D-A-P-H-N-E".

He practiced the alphabet once more, knowing he'd stuttered while spelling out the names.

When he was sure he had it down, he decided he would try a sentence. A sentence he often said to his daughter, but knew she'd never hear. He hoped she'd know he was sincere if he used her language, so he flexed his fingers and signed "I-M S-O-R-R-Y D-A-P-H-N-E".

* * *

><p>Oh my god! Heck of a week. Ironically, my friend got hit by a car, so my focus was not as on track as I had wanted. I'm giving you what I managed to get done and I will try to update more frequently. I'm so sorry about the wait and the length, or lack thereof, in this chapter.<p> 


End file.
